She's HERE!

Krista Rose was born on Feb 1st, 2011.

I have every intention of writing a post about the birth, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Just so you know, it was perfect!

I will write more later. At the moment she doesn't allow me much time in front of the computer.

For now here are some pictures of our new little family member.

39 Weeks and 2 days

I am done.
The baby is not, but I am done.
I have become completely disenchanted with the wonder and excitement that is pregnancy.
I feel physically fine, there is nothing wrong with me or the baby.
I have been very blessed to have a friend who provided me with a special pillow that has made sleeping much easier. So I am well rested with no complaints.

I am impatient and cranky and there is nothing anyone can say or do to change it.
Everyday that passes without going into labor just makes me even more frustrated.
All my relaxation techniques only keep me from killing all the people around me. They are not working to make me any more patient or calm regarding the pregnancy.

When I hear people kindly say "the baby will be here soon" or "it could be any day now" or "your precious little one is on it's way" I just want to vomit on them.

I know this baby will be born. It is impossible to stay pregnant forever. However having that knowledge does not make any difference in the way I feel at this moment.

Unfortunately for my sanity I have chosen to believe that natural is the correct way. Which means that I have absolutely no choice but to wait until the baby decides it is time to be born. Which is the correct way to do it. Although, just because it is right doesn't make it easy. If I used mainstream medical doctors I could have asked for a chemical induction 2 days ago and they would have given it to me with no problem. It is unfortunate for me to be a naturalist and be so impatient. It makes life frustrating at times like these.

I normally try to maintain an upbeat positive attitude about things, however today I am just not feeling it and I am being honest about my frustration.

I will live. This child will be born eventually. I will be happy and excited on the day it actually happens. But today I'm cranky.

38 Weeks

We are ready and waiting, somewhat patiently, for the arrival of Baby Lewis #2.

I have completed all the things on my personal list that I wanted to do before the baby got here. Which were: maternity photos, created a belly cast (as seen in the photo; it still needs to be sanded and painted), read all the books I wanted to about home birth and natural birth, keep a journal of the pregnancy, start writing a book, create a video documentary (still in progress), created a birth plan and emailed it to everyone who is going to be involved, and the list goes on. I am very pleased with my personal success during this pregnancy.

I had my 38 week appointment with my midwife on Wednesday and everything is going great. She said that the baby has dropped and it is in the optimal alignment for birthing. She also seems to think that I will go to full term. Which means I will have to wait another 2 weeks or so before the baby decides to make an appearance. Have I mentioned that I have not had a single person try to look up my parts during this whole pregnancy. Oh my heavens it has been awesome! Seriously, just that fact alone is enough to convince me to use a home birth midwife over a medicalized hospital birth. If I were seeing a mainstream OB I would have been poked and prodded like a cow a hundred times by now. I have had no unnecessary testing, no needles for blood draws, no stress about "what could go wrong" or "just in case" medications. This pregnancy experience has been awesome! The freedom and peace of mind that a midwife can give is out of this world.

I feel great. There is really nothing for me to complain about. I do have a little difficulty getting around just because of my size, but that is normal at this stage. I am sleeping fine thanks to Jeni who gave me the most awesome pregnancy pillow!

Steve is going to help me do one more set of photos before the baby gets here so we have photo records of how big I have gotten.

Jacob is still excited about the whole thing. He has started to ask "When is the baby going to come out". He wants me to be able to give him an exact date. I wish I could but that is not how natural birth works. He is being very patient. He is also finally heavy enough to help me get off the sofa. If I hold his hands and he falls backwards his body weight is enough to pull me forward. It's pretty funny to watch, but it is helpful when no other adults are around. :)

My next blog should be about the birth, unless I get frisky and add a post about the baby shower, which is tomorrow!

For now I am just waiting .....

Photos at 34 Weeks

30 Weeks

I am now 30 weeks along and feeling like it.

So far so good. Everything is going perfectly and I have no complaints.

We are getting down to crunch time though. We have a lot of things to get in place before this little one gets here. I have an entire list of things to find and or purchase that the midwife will need us to have in the house on the day of the birth. Suzanne (midwife) will provide all the medical supplies and tools that she might need so that is no issue. I'm referring to things like plastic to cover furniture, extra sets of sheets for the bed in the event of a mess, comfortable changes of clothes set out for me, towels, warm blankets and hats for the new baby, diapers ... etc. All pretty normal stuff that we will need just to make the day go more smoothly.

I think by the end of this month I will post my birth plan for everyone to see. It is my vision in writing of how I would like the day of birth to play out. Reading the rough draft I have already started it sounds very much like an agenda for a big party event. I find it amusing!

Jacob is still super thrilled. Steve treats me like a queen and just grins at me all the time.

Up to this point I have physically been able to perform everyday tasks with no issue at all. Now that we are in the final 10 or so weeks I am starting to act pregnant. Not on purpose. I just can't help it. My body is changing and not telling me ahead of time. Some days I will feel perfectly normal, even a little better than I did before I was pregnant. Then the next day I will feel like a beached whale who needs assistance to be rolled off the couch. My pelvic bones have begun the softening process and I can feel it. I wake up with sore hips and it takes me a while to waddle around to start my day. None of this is bad. It is just all part of the process.

I am pretty sure that this kid has super human hearing. Every time the midwife says what it should be doing at this point it reacts and starts doing it immediately and with much enthusiasm. For example, Suzanne mentioned at our last visit that I needed to start keeping track during the day of how often the baby moved around and how strong the kicks were. The more movement and the stronger the kicks was a good thing and I needed to feel a minimum of about 10 movements during the hours of 8am to 4pm. The time reference was just a way for me to remember to count. Well the baby heard this and has not stopped moving since. Seriously, like clock work the next day at 8am I got the crap kicked out of me. And anytime Jake or Steve talk directly to the baby through my belly it starts dancing around in response. It is really cool!

Steve, Jake and I all have made guesses about what we think the baby's weight will be at birth. Steve said 6lbs 10oz. Jake said 6lbs 5 oz. I think it is going to be 7lbs even. Jake was 6lbs 14oz when he was born and I just have a feeling that this little on will be a little bigger. We'll find out.

That's it for the moment. I'm going to waddle on to something else now! :)

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27 Weeks

There is a little bit of question about my due date so I have decided to put myself at 27 weeks. That is right in between what my midwife thinks and what my last cycle says I am.



I am starting to feel uncomfortable. It is not a bad thing. I am just very aware of how pregnant I am. I will say that during my pregnancy with Jacob I remember being uncomfortable a lot sooner. So I count myself lucky with this one.

I think I finally look pregnant instead of chubby. My belly is definitely getting more round. I had always hoped I would be thin and have a perfect round baby belly the second time around, but that didn't happen. I am just happy that we are getting the baby we wanted and I will work on my body later. Vanity surgery is not out of the question. I will have a flat tummy before I die even if I have to pay for it!

When I was pregnant with Jacob I was working full time and didn't really have much time to think about what was going on. With this pregnancy I have been a stay at home mom and independent business owner which has allowed me time to think. So far my one prominent thought has been "babies take a long time to cook!"

I was doing the math the other day and we only have 13 weeks left before this new little person gets here. AAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!! That is a scream of excitement and the realization that I don't have that much time left to get the things done that I want to. That sounds funny for me to say considering my main thought has been how long it is taking. I am trying to have a very laid back attitude. Meaning that whatever I think I need to get done can probably wait. There is no reason to run around like a crazy headless chicken working on random silly projects trying to complete them before the baby is born. This baby doesn't care what is done and what isn't. All the baby cares about is being loved, feed and diapered. There is no reason why the birth should interfere with normal life, okay let me say that at least while the birth is taking place things will be a little more exciting than normal, but then life goes on just with one more person in it. Can you tell that I am trying to convince myself not to stress out. Do you think it is working?

Oh my heavens I have been so emotional with this pregnancy. With Jacob my emotional stability was pretty normal however my libido was through the roof. With this one my libido is normal and I am emotionally unstable. I don't just mean that I am crying at the drop of a hat for no reason. I mean all my emotions are heightened, happiness, love, anger, hate, contentment, frustration, if it is a feeling of any kind it is 10 times stronger right now than normal. Steve jokes that with Jake's pregnancy he got no sleep and was physically drained but with this one he is sleeping but emotionally drained. I bet watching all this from the male perspective is kinda funny. Heck even from my perspective it is funny, but only if I'm in a good mood at the time. HA!

I am putting together a birth plan for the big day. So far it includes cake, ice cream, balloons, finger foods and a guest list. I have decided to have a BIRTH-day party for this new little one. I got the idea from another one of my midwife's clients. I will be at home so I can do whatever I want! I love it!

I have been reading and practicing my Hypnobirthing techniques. I really do feel so much more relaxed and prepared for this birth than I did with Jacob. I wish I could go back in time and do his over I would change everything. But, I can't. So at some time in my future when I am ready I will get over it. It actually bothered Jake one day when I was talking to someone (can't remember who) about my hospital experience and how horrible it was. He said he was sad because he's was done wrong and the new baby's was going to be done right. The only reason he even knew to say that was because of me and the things he had heard me say. So, I have been very careful since then not to talk about his birth in a bad way. Kids are super sensitive to these sorts of things, which is why I generally take the stance that kids don't need to be told everything. They need to think everything is wonderful and rose colored in their world until they are older and can process the information correctly.

Any who, things are going well. This baby is growing and being very cooperative. I have my 28 week checkup with the midwife next week and then things start to get fun. I think we start our every 2 week visits after that.

The holidays are coming up and time is going to fly by. I am very thankful that both of my pregnancies were timed such that I was at my biggest during the winter. I love this time of year!